Is bodybuilding a sport?

Is bodybuilding a sport?

This is something that I have seen discussed many times over, so I more or less know the topic inside out. I will present both sides of the argument as well as going over my personal opinion.

Against bodybuilding being a sport

The arguments against bodybuilding being a sport centre largely around:

- sports are usually, but not always, scored objectively
- sports usually involve a performance aspect
- bodybuilding is less similar to sports than it is to other competitive activities
- technical aspects related to the definition of "sport"

Sport - the definition

I think firstly let's define what sport is so that we have something to work with. The dictionary defines sport as:

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

 Objective Scoring

Usually sports are scored objectively in some way. If you are performing a race of some kind then the person who finishes within the shortest time is the winner. If you are a powerlifter and you lift the most total weight on the squat, bench press and deadlift you win the meet. If you are playing basketball and your team shoots the most baskets amounting to the greatest score then your team wins the game. This is fairly straight forward. The argument against bodybuilding being a sport therefore is that the competitors are judged subjectively based on loose criteria. There is no direct control that you have over your score or placing.

 Basketball is an example of an objectively scored sport

Performance

Another thing most sports have in common is that the training and performance of the sport activity are directly related. Whether that be shot put, table tennis, sprinting, soccer, swimming, your training develops skills and abilities which directly contribute to the activity you perform. In bodybuilding that doesn't happen. You train for hypertrophy and whilst there is certainly a performance aspect to training when it comes to the competition there is no related performance aspect. You get on stage to display the physique you have built through the training that you have done.

Posing in bodybuilding displays the physique but isn't a performance activity

Similarities and Differences

Another argument that people put forward is that bodybuilding not only has differences between itself and other sports but that it has similarities to other competitions. In particular people like to cite that bodybuilding competitions are similar to beauty pageants. Indeed they do have some similarities - judged partly on physical appearance, they involves training and preparation of some kind, they are both competitions which are judged subjectively and both involve posing on stage in a bikini or posing trunks.

 Bodybuilding contests and beauty pageants - the same thing?

Technicalities of the Definition

 So again the definition of sport was

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

In particular proponents of bodybuilding not being a sport argue that the performance on stage is what really matters (as opposed to the training). They would then argue that posing doesn't involve much physical exertion or skill.

  For bodybuilding being a sport

The arguments for bodybuilding being a sport centre largely around:

- not all sports are scored objectively
- bodybuilding involves an athletic training aspect
- similarities to other activities don't matter
- technicalities of the definition

Subjective Scoring

Whilst I would say the majority of sports are scored objectively as I discussed above, there are certainly some sports which are scored subjectively. Four examples which come to mind immediately are gymnastics, figure skating, synchronised swimming and diving. All of these sports have criteria which they are judged upon but they are judged subjectively by a panel nonetheless. Saying that an activity must be judged objectively to be considered as a sport is therefore incorrect.

Figure skating - a sport which is judged subjectively

Competition vs Training

I think where both sides really disagree is the consideration of the actual competition vs the training which is involved for it. Like I said already most other sports do have a performance aspect to the competitive activity. Bodybuilding doesn't really have that but it does include it very much as the main part of the preparation for the competition. Training for muscular hypertrophy is very demanding as much so as many other sports and you could certainly consider the activity of resistance training as athletic. It is definitely "training" as opposed to "exercise" if you get what I am saying.

 Bodybuilding isn't a performance based activity ... tell that to Ronnie Coleman

Similar =/= Exactly the same

The argument that bodybuilding competitions are the same as beauty pageants is a flawed one in my opinion. Whilst I do recognise that there are some legitimate similarities between the two things, I dispute that they are the same thing. Some examples of differences between bodybuilding competitions and pageants include but are not limited to:

- one is a competition between muscular males or females, the other is a competition between slim females only
- one involves age groups from teenage to elderly, the other involves children and young women
- bodybuilding involves peaking strategies, pageants do not
- one involves a series of mandatory poses, the other does not
- one involves a posing routine set to music, the other does not
- one involves a variety of rounds including appearance in a swimsuit, appearance in a gown, talent in an activity and poise answering questions about things like how they would solve contemporary problems in society. The other involves just muscular appearance
- in one the competitors apply a very dark tan, in the other the competitors lack the same degree of tan
- the training and preparation involved for each competition is completely different
- bodybuilders get to extremely low levels of bodyfat, pageant competitors don't
- the judging criteria for the aspects of appearance which are judged are different
- some bodybuilders use anabolic steroids and other performance based substances, pageant competitors don't

Clearly pageants and bodybuilding contests are completely different things. And to argue that they are the same thing based on the few similarities that they do have is wrong. That would be the same as arguing that apples and tomatoes are the same thing, cricket and baseball are the same games or sharks and dolphins are exactly the same. It is possible for things to have some similarities whilst actually being two different things.

 Mmmmm I can't wait to eat both of these round, red fruits which are exactly the same

Technicalities of the Definition

For ease of reading I will paste the definition of sport here one more time:

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

Now we need to tick off the boxes for bodybuilding to technically be considered a sport:

- it is an activity TICK
- the training involves physical exertion and skill TICK
- you can argue that the posing on stage involves both physical exertion and skill (anyone who has competed will know exactly what I mean) TICK
- bodybuilding involves an individual competing against others TICK
- the purpose is entertainment TICK

So if we are strictly looking at the definition of a sport then it is possible for bodybuilding to be considered a sport because you can argue that it technically fulfills what the definition requires.

My Opinion

Personally I have seen this argument so many times that I can see both sides. I do like to think of bodybuilding as a sport. Being someone who is involved in it and knowing what it requires, I naturally think about it that way until these kinds of arguments are brought up. I'd also be fairly happy to call it a "competitive recreational activity". However I don't think it is correct to call bodybuilding contests pageants. I feel that comparison is usually drawn as an attempt to upset bodybuilding competitors because it is known that suggesting bodybuilding is the same as something inherently feminine will be interpreted as offensive. I don't think it really matters what we define it as at the end of the day. It doesn't really change anything about bodybuilding. It's still the same thing whether you call it a sport, an activity, a competition or whatever else.

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